THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503050232
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE AND JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
After compiling a 42-0 record and steamrolling opponents on his way to the state title, it might seem as if Great Bridge's Carl Perry could win even with one arm tied behind his back.
He's already proved he can wrestle on one leg.
Since the middle of the season Perry has competed with torn cartilage in his right knee, which was weakened slightly from an injury when Perry was a freshman. He will have arthroscopic surgery on March 10.
``The pain isn't too bad,'' Perry said. ``It didn't really affect my wrestling.''
Perry gave most of the credit to an ``awesome trainer'', Sharon Ivey, for keeping his knee in good enough shape to stand the rigors of competition.
``We iced it before and after practice to keep down the swelling, and used ultrasound as needed so he'd have range of motion,'' Ivey said.
After two months off for rehabilitation, Perry intends to resume training for the summer wrestling season. The Junior Nationals, which he hopes to attend, begin in July.
BY A NOSE: Stonewall Jackson's Todd Mason certainly got his state title the hard way.
Mason, who overcame a broken nose to upend Salem's Chip Reyes in the quarterfinal, had to wrestle without a face guard in the 119-pound final against North Stafford's Justin Baker.
Mason began the final with a face guard he'd borrowed from a fellow wrestler, but discarded it midway through the match with the score tied at four because it didn't fit.
``It kept slipping down on my face,'' Mason said. ``I couldn't see.''
Naturally, Baker's first move was to whip a forearm across Mason's unprotected nose and drive him onto his back.
A chorus of boos greeted Baker's tactic, but Mason said he understood.
``That's wrestling,'' he said. ``You do what you have to do to win.''
Nevertheless, the capacity crowd, which previously appeared to have little interest in the match, suddenly came alive, adopting Mason as a favorite son and passionately rooting him on.
``I could definitely feel it out there,'' Mason said.
The final 60 seconds featured an exciting series of reversals and near-falls, but Mason's reversal with 15 seconds remaining was enough for an 11-9 victory.
When the final buzzer went off, Mason slumped to the mat clutching his face, the pose typically associated with the loser.
``It was a strange feeling,'' said Mason, his nose mashed against his face as though he'd just gone 10 rounds with George Foreman instead of six minutes with Justin Baker. ``I just couldn't get excited about it because of the pain. My nose hurt too much.''
THIS AND THAT: The standing-room only crowd of 3,850 was the first sellout crowd at the new Oscar Smith High School. Tournament director Steve Martin said Chesapeake will bid to host the tournament again. ... The Eastern Region produced 15 of the 26 finalists. Thirty-two wrestlers from this region left as state placewinners. ... Great Bridge's Travis Woodhouse wasn't around to take the podium after his fifth-place finish in the 130-pound division. Woodhouse developed stomach spasms shortly after his last match and was taken to a hospital. The spasms weren't serious, however, and Woodhouse returned to Oscar Smith before the program was finished. by CNB